Bridges of Indiana's Counties - Parke Co. - #38 Mansfield (4/31)

Mansfield Bridge is built Burr Arch Style
July, 2009    dwm photo

Parke County, Indiana is all about covered bridges, and inside Parke County it's the community of Mansfield that takes the passion to a higher level.

Mansfield is also the name for the longest remaining covered bridge in the county at 247 feet.  Medora, the longest in the state, measures 434 feet.

Judging by the Mansfield Village website, bridge pride and enthusiasm exceeds any measure.

The fourth oldest in the county, J.J. Daniels built this one in 1867.

Mansfield Covered Bridge
July, 2009   (dwm)

It was built for horse drawn carts and wagons, but its sturdy construction was built to last.  For a while State Highway 59 passed over the bridge and the story goes that once three oil trucks were on it at the same time with no damage done.

The roof and decks were replaced in 1980 and 1990.  In 2006, after a storm tore the central roof off, repairs were finished a year later.

When you are 151 years old, it is a lot of work to host a bunch of parties.

A Mushroom festival rolls into Mansfield next month, followed by a Beans & Cornbread days in September, and the Covered Bridge Festival in October.  The bridge is the heart of all the celebrations as a festival ground for this unincorporated community.

Big Raccoon Creek flows under many Parke County bridges.
July, 2009   dwm photo

Early European settlers in 1819 called the area New Dublin, after the capital of Ireland.

By 1892, Mansfield had this fine bridge, a dam, two mills, and railroad tracks to a red sandstone quarry.  Unfortunately, it was a short-lived boom town.

While the bridge brought commerce into town for those booming years - it still does each fall as hundreds of thousands guests make Mansfield and its carnival of vendors the hub of the Bridge Festival.

Parke County, IN
internet image

Mansfield Covered Bridge Facts

Built:  1867 by J.J. Daniels

Style:  Burr Arch

Length:  247 feet in three spans across Big Raccoon Creek

See more Parke County and other Indiana bridges, click here.